Being a Swarovski club member has always been a plus for the collector. Since 1987, the Swarovski Crystal Society has annually released and featured exclusive figurines only available to the SCS community.

Since the inception of the SCS, times have changed. For a number of years, the Swarovski club pieces grew tremendously in value. It seemed inevitable….pay for the figurine, store in safely in its original Swarovski Box with its Swarovski Certificate of Authenticity, wait a few years, then sell it for double, triple, or even higher from the original purchase price. What a deal! First were the Caring and Sharing series (1987-1989), Mother and Child (1990-1992), Inspiration Africa (1993-1995), and Fabulous Creatures (1996-1998). All performed very well on the secondary market after that restricted availability of one year to SCS members and immediate retirement.

The next Swarovski series were Masquerade (1999-2001) and Magic of Dance (2002-2004). The six years of human figurines (instead of animals) were not popular with the SCS members. Nor did it do any favors to the selling prices of the Swarovski crystal figurines following retirement. To date, Swarovski Masquerade remains the lowest selling Swarovski Annual Editions on the secondary market and online auctions.

When Swarovski returned to animals, they turned to a ‘sea’ theme: Wonders of the Sea (2005 -2007). Swarovski created a display, available in both a clear and a colored version. Then Swarovski allowed all annual editions in the trilogy to be available for purchase until the final annual edition retired. So effectively the first in the series was available for three years. While Swarovski SCS members were pleased with the decision to go back to the animals, they were not pleased with the extended purchase time of the ‘annual editions’…not so ‘annual’ any longer.

Swarovski 2010 Annual Edition Tiger, no longer an SCS Exclusive

Swarovski introduced ‘Endangered Species’ (2008-2010) and reverted to the original distribution method, or so I thought. I always purchased mine at the beginning of the year, and never paid attention to the end of the year. This year (I don’t know why), I did pay attention. I was surprised to see that the Swarovski SCS Tiger 2010 was still available online in January, 2011. It was explained to me that Swarovski has had a one month grace period for those last minute new SCS members. OK…I guess Swarovski is catering to the procrastinators and avoid destroying the excess produced. But now, it is February and the SCS Tiger is still available for purchase on the Swarovski web site. It is no longer advertised as an ‘SCS 2010 Tiger’, but as the ‘Annual Edition 2010 Tiger’. Furthermore, I was able to purchase the item under a fictitious name and a fictitious address without an SCS member number and complete checkout process. The only reason I won’t be ending up with another annual edition tiger is because I entered an expired credit card number. I was shocked when the reality set it that ‘SCS 2010 Annual Edition Tiger’ is retired and it is now available for purchase at the Swarovski web site under the new name Swarovski ‘Annual Edition 2010 Tiger‘ by ANY Swarovski collector. Just how many years will Swarovski continue to produce it under the new name? So what is the point of being in the SCS now knowing this? Perhaps this is really no different than how the crystal brand sold the Swarovski Limited Edition Rhinoceros, Elephant, and Bull ….they had multiple drawings of SCS winners and when the Swarovski Numbered Limited Editions never sold out to SCS members, Swarovski eventually allowed the general population to purchase from them from their web site. While I understand it’s all about making a profit, personally I am not real happy about purchasing what is advertised as an ‘exclusive’ item, then the manufacturer changing the rules of the game. It seems Swarovski may have ‘leftovers’ or another possible scenario is that Swarovski plans to continue production and marketing if there is significant interest from the Swarovski web site. Either way, the lack of exclusivity is a bum deal for SCS members.

One of my favorite Swarovski crystal figurines is the Swarovski Apollo Bowl. Like many Swarovski collectors, I generally prefer the cute animals, but I have always liked this colorful bowl.

The Swarovski Apollo Bowl is a white frosted bowl, with 40 colored stones attached to it. It is approximately 7. 5″ in diameter and 3″ in height. The Swarovski designer of the Apollo Bowl is Boris Sipek.

The Swarovski Apollo Bowl was in production for eight years: 1996 to 2004. During this period, some of the Apollo Bowls were made with numbers on them, and some of them were made without any number on them. So, I guess some of the Apollo Bowls are Numbered Editions, but they are not Swarovski Limited Editions. The accompanying paperwork does not make any mention of the individual number on the bowl.

To see if there is a number imprinted on any Apollo Bowl, turn the bowl upside down and look in the center (this is not where the logo and designer name are located). It is difficult to see since the bowl is frosted. On those with numbers, I have see numbers under 2000 and numbers over over 11,000. The number inscriptions begin with SG, and then ’97’, followed by the 4 or 5-digit number. So it may be that the particular numbered bowl was produced in 1997.

Still recovering from the blizzard and ice storms here, I took my Swarovski Apollo Bowl out into the snow, added a small snowball and clicked a picture.

Swarovski Apollo Bowl

Crystal Exchange America, at http://www.crystalexchange.com/ does have a new listing for the Swarovski Apollo Bowl, thought it does not presently appear on the web site. The price is $1750 + shipping. If this is a Swarovski Crystal Home Accessory figurine you want to own in your collection….don’t wait. The listings for the Apollo Bowl are becoming more rare as years pass. (I just learned that the Swarovski ERV for the Swarovski Apollo Bowl in 2011 is $2125, so $1750 just may be a bargain price!)

The crystal brand also produced other Swarovski Tinker Bell figurines. The Swarovski Tinkber Bell 1998 was the Arribas figurine. Arribas Tinker Bell is about 3 ¼” tall and has over 280 pave Swarovski stones. It originally retailed for $325. The Swarovski limited edition Tinker Bell had a maximum production of 10,000 units and was only distributed through the Arribas stores in the Walt Disney theme parks.

The next Swarovski Tinker Bell was in 2008. The 2008 Swarovski Tinker Bell was a cooperative effort with Disney. Swarovski Tinker Bell 2008 was a limited edition figurine produced in 2008. It is nearly 5″ tall and includes a title plaque in the original retail price of $300. This Swarovski limited edition Tinker Bell is now highly sought after on the secondary market and commands prices of $850 – $1200!

Tinker Bell fanatics have got to take note of all Swarovski Tinker Bell jewelry available in the online store. Prices on the individual items are $65 – $150.

The 2011 Swarovski Tinker Bell and Swarovski Peter Pan and feature accents in Olivine (green) crystal, with other colorful effects. The crystal figurines in the Swarovski Tinker Bell / Peter Pan collection can be view on the Swarovski site. The site does not mention size or price of the crystal figurines in the Peter Pan Collection.

If you are looking for retired Swarovski Tinker Bell, Arribas or Disney figurines, Crystal Exchange America has many available. They have figurines dating back to the 1997 when Swarovski and Arribas worked together to create the first Limited Edition Swarovski Jeweled Mickey Mouse.

I found a new Swarovski Crystal Video a few days ago. It is a video with LOTS of Swarovski Nirvana rings falling, falling, until they bounce off a shiny black surface.

Below the video, Swarovski asks: What do you get when you set Swarovski’s iconic Nirvana Ring against a backdrop of beautiful melody and blissful visuals? Swarovski answers: Paradise on earth!

In the Swarovski video, I noticed clear Nirvana rings, black Nirvana rings, and blue Nirvana rings. I started searching out the Swarovski Nirvana rings, and was I ever surprised at all the different colors I found them in:

It appears that the Nirvana rings are available in a lot more colors than I ever realized. The rings range in price from $170 – $190 depending on the color and source. Enjoy the video clip! If you are are considering to purchase the Nirvana ring, you should have plenty of colors to select from!

Swarovski and Clarins have come together in a combined perfume venture. Swarovski Aura should be available very soon. The inspiration was “all the grace and the magnetism of light,” according to Joël Palix, president of Clarins Fragrance Group. Conceptually, Aura attempts to express the soul of crystal, which is light, says Markus Langes-Swarovski, a member of the Swarovski board and the great-great grandson of the company’s founder, Daniel Swarovski.

The Swarovski Aura bottles are made of glass and metal, topped with asymmetrical Swarovski crystal components attached to the bottle. The Swarovski Aura perfume inside is pink in color. It appears that the bottle will be available in 2 different sizes with refill bottles of the perfume available.

Swarovski Auta Perfume Bottle

It is reported that there will be a Swarovski Aura launching event in Selfridges on March 3, 2011. From what I could tell, Selfridges is a (department) store in the UK. At the event, Swarovski will also unveil some pendants with makeup hidden inside them (lip gloss and balm). Long term, it is reported that Swarovski Aura should be available in some 500 Swarovski stores.

Swarovski and Clarins worked together in 2006 when the limited edition Angel Perfume bottle was developed commemorating fragrance Angel’s 15th anniversary.

The crystal brand company has created other Swarovski perfume bottles in the past. There was Swarovski Tresor in 1994, 1995-96, and 1997. Each container was a limited edition Swarovski bottle (5,000 or 10,000 depending on the bottle). There was Swarovski Yves St Laurent in 1996 and 1998. Each container was a limited edition Swarovski bottle of less than 6300 issues. In 1997, there was a Swarovski Jewel Perfume bottle, limited edition of 10,000. There was a Swarovski Roma bottle in 1997 with limited distribution in the European community. There were three different Swarovski Madame Gres bottles in 2003, each bottle being a limited edition of 5,000 bottles. If you are a Swarovski collector who enjoys Swarovski Perfume containers, Crystal Exchange America does have them available.